Jury seated in wrongful death trial of 2015 deputy-involved shooting

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A jury has been seated in the wrongful death case of an officer-involved shooting involving Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputies.

The 2015 shooting death of then 45-year-old Christie Cathers has been subject to a number of legal disputes since the original lawsuit was filed in Jan. 2016 in Monongalia County.

Gregory S. Farmerie, the administrator of the Christie Cather’s estate, filed a suit against the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Al Kisner, the two deputies involved in the shooting, MECCA 911 and the Monongalia County Commission. Some of those parties have since been dismissed from the lawsuit.

A deputy shot and killed Cathers after a pursuit incident in June 2015. Authorities said Cathers had attempted to ram a deputy standing in the road. She was killed in her vehicle. Police said they had received multiple reports about Cathers and her mental state before that incident had occurred.

The deputies involved in the shooting were placed on paid administrative leave before eventually returning to work. They were never identified.

The trial is scheduled for two weeks, with Harrison County Circuit Court Judge Thomas A. Bedell presiding.